Voice unit backpack

ABSTRACT

Apparatus in the form of a backpack for holding an astronaut figure, which plays a recorded saying as the pack and figure are lowered to the ground. The pack has a phonograph with a turntable that is rotated to play the record by pulling a string out of the pack. The string is pulled out by holding an outer end of the string and allowing the pack to slowly fall to the ground. The phonograph is contained in a housing, and the housing is supported on a pair of elongated members representing struts, the members having an integral strap for holding the toy figure to the housing.

United-"States Patent Inventors James E.Marshall Westminster; Richard E.Henderson, Huntington Beach, both of Calif. [21] Appl. No. 876,341 [22]Filed Nov. 13, 1969 [45] Patented Oct. 19, 1971 [73] Assignee Mattel,Inc.

Hawthorne, Calif.

[54] VOICE UNIT BACKPACK 4 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs. [52] US. Cl 274/9 R,274/l.1,46/117 [51] Int.Cl G1lb3/00 [50] Field of Search 46/117; 274/1 l9 [5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,034,888 3/1936 Wilhelm274/1. 1

Primary Examiner-Robert Peshock Assistant ExaminerD. I... WeinholdAttorney-Seymour A. Scholnick ABSTRACT: Apparatus in the form of abackpack for holding an astronaut figure, which plays a recorded sayingas the pack and figure are lowered to the ground. The pack has aphonograph with a turntable that is rotated to play the record bypulling a string out of the pack. The string is pulled out by holding anouter end of the string and allowing the pack to slowly fall to theground. The phonograph is contained in a housing; and the housing issupported on a pair of elongated members representing struts, themembers having an integral strap for holding the toy figure to thehousing.

PATENTEUUET 19 197i 3,6 1 4.1 10

SHEET 10F 3 1 ZJM PATENTEBUBI 19 Ian SHEET 2 [IF 3 BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to toys.

2. Description of the Prior Art One type of miniature toy phonographwhich can be concealed in dolls and othertoys includes a spring forturning a record turntable to play the record. A cord is provided whichcan be pulled out to windthe spring and released to allow the spring toturn the turntable in a direction to play the record. This manner ofoperating a toy phonograph has become so common that a different methodof operation would provide novelty that increased the entertainmentvalue of the toy.

Among the various types of toys in which phonographs may be used are toyapparatus for use with toy astronaut figures. An interesting accessoryfor play with astronaut figures is an accessory representing a backpack.If the backpack is heavy, it will tip over the figure, unless thebackpack itself supplies supports for stabilizing the figure. However, abackpack apparatus with portions for holding and stabilizing a figurecan be complicated and expensive to manufacture.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present inventionis to provide a toy phonograph which operates in a novel andentertaining manner.

Another object is to provide a backpack for holding toy figures, whichis entertaining and sturdy, and which is economical to produce.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a toy phonograph isprovided that includes a record turntable which is rotated by pulling astring out of the phonograph housing. The housing is part of a backpackfor holding a toy astronaut figure. The string extends through anopening at the top of the backpack, and a child can hold the outer endof the string and release the backpack so it falls slowly to the ground.As the backpack falls to the ground, the phonograph plays sayingsappropriate to an astronaut environment. Thus, the toy providesentertainment by simulating the controlled landing of an astronaut on aplanet, and provides additional entertainment by reproducing sounds asthe astronaut and backpack descend.

The phonograph is constructed so that the weight of the' backpack issufficient to provide the amount of string tension to operate it. Asecond string is provided which can be pulled out of the backpack torewind the first string into the phonograph housing. The use of a pairof strings eliminates the need for a spring to rotate the turntable.

The backpack is formed by a phonograph housing with front and rear partsthat fit together, and by a separate integral harness member thatcontains a pair of struts for cushioning the landing of the pack on theground and a strap for holding the toy figure to the backpack. Thehousing has a strut-receiving aperture at each side, formed between itsforward and rearward parts, that receive each of the strut members. Apair of strap-receiving apertures is also provided in the housing, atpositions forward of the strut-receiving apertures. The ends of thestrap, which extend from the strut members, are within the housing,while portions of the strap spaced form the ends pass through thestrap-receiving openings in the housing. This provides the appearancethat the straps are extending from the housing rather than from thestruts.

The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity inthe appended claims. The invention will be best understood from thefollowing description when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of avoice unit backpack constructed in accordance with the invention,showing its manner of operation;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the backpack taken on the line 2-2 of FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the backpack taken on the line 33 of FIG.2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the harness member of the backpack ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a partial view taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective. view of thehousing portion of the backpack ofFIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS direction by pulling'aplayingstring 14 out of the pack. This. can be accomplished by holdingan outer end 16 of the string, above the ground or any other landingsurface 20 and allowingthe backpack assembly 10-to descend to theground. As the pack assembly descends, the string is pulled out and thephonograph plays a recording. The recordings may be chosen to be thosewhich represent sayings that an astronaut might make, together withbackground beeps representing signals.

which one might expect to hear in an astronauts environment.

The backpack assembly includes a-housing 18 and a pair of strut members21, 22 depending from the housing for supporting it above the ground.The strut members represent struts or shock absorbers, of a type whichmay be used on landing vehicles to cushion impact with the ground. Thestrut members 21, 22 serve primarily to hold the backpack andfigure 12stably upright on the ground. Even if the figures legs do not touch theground, the pads at the bottom of the struts can generally preventtoppling, and if the figures legs do touch the ground, the apparatus iseven more stably supported. The struts also help to prevent the housing18 against breakage if a child releases the apparatus while it is stillsome distanceabove the ground.

To further cushion the apparatus, a pair of elongated cushioning members24, 26 are provided that extend to positions behind and above thehousing 18. If the assembly is dropped on its rear or top, thecushioning members 24, 26 help to absorb the impact to prevent breakage.The backpack assembly also includes a strap 28 for encircling the waistof the toy figure to hold it to the housing 18, and apair of arm rests30, 32 for receiving the arms of the figure. Even if the strap 28 is notheld tight, it will remain around the waist of the figure, because thefigures arms are supported by the arm rests that prevent the figure fromfalling down relative to the backpack.

In playing with the apparatus, a child typically uses a figure 12 whichhe may play with independently of the backpack apparatus. The figure canbe slipped, feet first, through, the strap 28 until the arms of thefigure rest on the arm rests. If the playing string 14 has been pulledout of the housing, the child must first rewind it back in by pulling onthe outer end 34 of a rewind string 36. After the playing string 14 hasbeen rewound, a child holds the outer end 16 above the ground, byholding it either in his hand or on a toy support apparatus, such asthat shown at 38 which helps prevent accidental release of the outer endof the string. The child then releases the backpack apparatus to allowit to descend to the ground. Typically, the pack descends a distance ofa few feet during a period of about 5 seconds.

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate details of the phonograph mechanism which iscontained in the housing 18 of the backpack apparatus. The phonographincludes a record turntable 40 rotatably mounted on the housing, theturntable having a record 42 with several grooves that define severaldifferent sayings. When the record turns in the direction of arrow 44, astylus 46 on a tone arm 48 follows inwardly along a spiral groove toplay the recording defined therein. A speaker cone assembly 50 isprovided for acoustically amplifying sound from the stylus, the assemblyincluding an armature 52, which is spring biased against the tone arm,and a cone 54 which couples sound from the armature to the air.

The turntable has a first string drum 56 for receiving the playingstring 14, and a second string drum 58 for receiving the rewind string36. Actually, the strings 14, 36 are different halves of a single stringwhich has a center portion 59 that extends between the two drums. A band60 is fastened to the center portion to prevent the string againstcreeping from one drum to the other. The two strings 14, 36 are wound inopposite directions around their respective drums 56, 58. Accordingly,when one string is pulled out to play the record, the other string 36 isrewound on its drum, and vice versa.

The strings 14, 36 are installed so that when one string is fully woundon its string drum, the other string is fully unwound from its stringdrum (a string is fully wound or unwound when it cannot be wound orunwound any further in the normal course of operation). String 14extends from the drum 56 to an eyelet 62 in the upper portion of thehousing, the eyelet 62 being oriented to pass the string in an upwarddirection therethrough with a minimum of friction. The rewind string 36passes through an aperture 64 in the tone arm and through another eyelet66 in the housing.

A governor 67 is provided to regulate speed of the turntable, so as toprovide a natural sound. The governor is coupled to the turntable by abelt 69, and the governor rotates for either direction of turntablerotation. The governor can maintain a turntable speed within about 5percent of an optimum speed which produces the most natural sound, onlyfor a turntable torque of less than a predetermined amount, such as 3inch-ounces. The torque provided when the backpack dangles on the stringis less than this maximum amount, as will be explained below.

In order to play the record, a child first grasps a knob 68 at the endof the rewind string and pulls the string outwardly as far as it willgo. As the string 36 is pulled out, it drags the tone arm 48 to the rimof the record, until the tone arm strikes a randomizing cam 70 thatdetermines which of the several grooves the stylus will fall into. Asthe string 36 is pulled out, the playing string 14 is being wound ontoits string drum 56. A knot or the like can be provided'near the outerendof the playing string 14 to limit the amount which can be rewoundinto the housing.

After the string 14 has been fully rewound, it is in condition for theplaying of one of the sayings defined by a groove in the record.Normally, a child will install a toy figure on the backpack assembly inthe manner shown in FIG. 1, although the device will operate even in theabsence of an installed figure. The child then raises the backpackassembly 10 and the outer end of the playing string 14 to a height of afew feet above the ground. He then releases the backpack assembly whileholding the outer end of the playing string 14 to allow the backpackassembly to slowly descend along the string onto the ground.

As the backpack and figure descend, their weight pulls against the outerend of the playing string, causing the string 14 to unwind and rotatethe turntable 40 in the direction of arrow 44. The stylus on the tonearm follows one of the spiral record grooves and reproduces the sounddefined therein. While the turntable rotates, the rewind string 36 isbeing rewound into the housing. It is generally desirable to hold theouter end of the playing string at a level wherein the stylus reachesthe end of the record groove shortly before the backpack assemblyreaches the ground. Thus, the assembly descends to the ground in themanner in which an astronaut might be expected to land on a planet, andit creates sounds which are appropriate to an astronaut.

In order to assure rotation of the turntable 40 when the backpackassembly is allowed to descend from the playing string, the backpackmust be provided with sufficient mass. This mass produces agravity-caused force or weight, which pulls the string out of thephonograph housing. In designing the phonograph mechanism, the designercan calculate the weight of the entire backpack assembly 10 and choose adiameter of the string drum 56 on which the playing string 14 is wound,to assure proper playing. The diameter of the string drum 56 must assurea sufficient torque to rotate the turntable when the weight of thebackpack is applied at the radius of the drum.

It is generally desirable to allow the backpack to operate even when atoy figure is not held thereon, although the diameter of the playingstring drum 56 can be chosen so that the weight of the fixture must beadded to the backpackassembly to properly operate the phonograph. Thebackpack assembly may have a weight such as 3 ounces, and the diameterof the string drum 56 may be about 1 inch, which can generally providesufficient torque to operate the mechanism. If the mechanism requiresgreater torque, then the diameter of the string drum must be madelarger, which requires a longer falling distance to play a record ofgiven length. It may be noted that the rewind drum 58 is of much smallerdiameter than the string drum 56. This is because a child can easilyapply a force of more than several ounces on the rewind string 36, and asmaller drum allows complete rewinding to occur with a shorter pullinglength of the string.

The phonograph can be played by a child holding the backpack in one handand pulling the playing string 14 outwardly with his other hand.However, a child generally provides too much force, so the record playstoo fast and sounds squeeky." The governor 67 cannot sufficiently slowthe turntable if a torque several times greater than optimum is applied.If a child tries to apply a smaller force, he typically cannot maintainthe force constant or pull up the string at a constant rate, so therecord does not play as smoothly as when he merely allows the backpackassembly to fall while holding the string. If it is desired to allow achild to pull out the string by hand while holding the backpackassembly, a much smaller string drum for the playing string 14 should beprovided, and a governor must be provided which can better regulate therecord playing speed. A governor which can provide better regulation isgenerally somewhat more expensive and creates much higher friction.

The outer portions of the backpack assembly, including the .housing 18,struts 21, 22, arm rests 30, 32, strap 28 and cushioning members 24, 26,are formed as three integral parts. These include two housing sections80, 82, shown in FIG. 6 and a harness member or assembly 84, shown inFIG. 4. The harness assembly is an integral member which is injectionmolded, with the arm rests 30, 32 and strap 28 also lying in the sameplace in the mold. However, the struts 21, 22 are turned to move the armrests toward each other to the position shown in FIG. 4, in order toinstall the strut assembly on the housing 18. The housing 18 has a pairof openings 86, 88 formed between the two housing portions 80, 82through which the struts 21, 22 can extend. The front housing portionhas a pair of strap-receiving apertures 90, 92 through which the strapextends. The provision of separate apertures 90, 92 which are forward ofthe openings 86, 88 which receive the struts, makes it seem as thoughthe strap extends from the backpack housing portion instead of from thestruts. It would normally be expected that a strap would extend from thehousing, and if it appeared to extend from the struts it would create anartificial appearance. The openings 86, 88 and 90, actually serve asdifferent openings, even though the openings on each side are connectedtogether.

In installing the strut assembly 84, it is first turned to the positionshown in FIG. 4 so that the end portions 94, 96 of the straps areagainst the arm rests 32, 30. One side of the strut assembly isinstalled in one side of the forward housing portion 82 by sliding themupwardly into slot 92, as shown in FIG. 5. The other side of the strutassembly can be similarly installed, and the rear portion of the housingattached to the front portion 82 of the housing to complete theassembly. The struts each carry protrusions 98, 100 that engage thelower walls of the front housing portion to prevent the strut assemblyfrom being pulled downwardly out of the housing, and they carry a pairof disc-shaped ledge members 102, 104 that abut the bottom walls of thehousing to prevent upward movement of the strut assembly. Thus, thestrut assembly is firmly held in place once it is installed. After thefront and rear housing portions are connected together, the cushioningmembers 24, 26 are installed by bending them over to the positions shownin FIG. 1 and inserting their outer ends into holes 106 (FIG. 3) in thehousing.

Thus, the invention provides a voice unit backpack which operates in anovel manner, producing sounds as it descends onto the ground. Theapparatus also is constructed in an economical manner, both in the voiceunit portion and the housing and harness portions. The voice unitoperates without the need for a spring motor. The harness assembly isconstructed as a single integral member, so it can be formed in a singleinjection molding step, and can be installed rapidly and in a mannerthat provides an attractive and realistic appearance.

Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described andillustrated herein, it is recognized that modifications and variationsmay readily occur to those skilled in the art, and consequently, it isintended that the claims be interpreted to cover such modifications andequivalents.

What is claimed is:

l. A toy phonograph comprising:

a housing;

record mans defining sounds, said record means movably mounted in saidhousing;

means for producing sounds defined by said record means;

a string having an outer end, and having an innner end portion coupledto said record means to move it in a direction to play it when the outerend of said string is pulled which at least a predetermined force out ofsaid housing; and

means for rewinding said string into said housing, said housing and thecontents therein having a mass which produces a weight which is at leastequal to said predetermined force, whereby to play said record byholding said outer end of said string while said housing falls down.

2. The toy phonograph described-in claim 1 wherein:

said record means comprises a turntable rotatably mounted on saidhousing, said turntable having a record and first and secondstring-receiving portions;

said string is a first string which is coupled to said firststring-receiving portion to wind thereon; and

said means for rewinding comprises a second string having an inner endportion coupled to said second string-receiving portion to wind thereon,said first and second strings installed so that each is wound on itsstring-receiving portion wen the other string is unwound from itsstringreceiving portion.

3. The toy phonograph described in claim 2 wherein:

said first and second strings are formed by a single string with acenter portion extending between said first and second string-receivingportions.

4. A toy phonograph comprising:

a housing;

record means defining sounds, said record means movably mounted in saidhousing;

means for producing sounds defined by said record means;

a string having an outer end, and having an innner end por-' tioncoupled to said record means to move it in a direction to play it whenthe outer end of said string is pulled with at least a predeterminedforce out of said housing; and

means for rewinding said string into said housing, said housing and thecontents therein having a mass which produces a weight which is atwhereby to play said record by holding said outer end of said stringwhile said housing falls down, said housing having upper and lower ends,means representing landing struts extending downwardly from said lowerend, and a hole opening upwardly for permitting said string to be pulledupwardly out of said housing, whereby when a child holds the outer endof said string, the housing descends in an upright position so that saidlanding struts can hit the ground.

1. A toy phonograph comprising: a housing; record mans defining sounds,said record means movably mounted in said housing; means for producingsounds defined by said record means; a string having an outer end, andhaving an innner end portion coupled to said record means to move it ina direction to play it when the outer end of said string is pulled whichat least a predetermined force out of said housing; and means forrewinding said string into said housing, said housing and the contentstherein having a mass which produces a weight which is at least equal tosaid predetermined force, whereby to play said record by holding saidouter end of said string while said housing falls down.
 2. The toyphonograph described in claim 1 wherein: said record means comprises aturntable rotatably mounted on said housing, said turntable having arecord and first and second string-receiving portions; said string is afirst string which is coupled to said first string-receiving portion towind thereon; and said means for rewinding comprises a second stringhaving an inner end portion coupled to said second string-receivingportion to wind thereon, said first and second strings installed so thateach is wound on its string-receiving portion wen the other string isunwound from its string-receiving portion.
 3. The toy phonographdescribed in claim 2 wherein: said first and second strings are formedby a single string with a center portion extending between said firstand second string-receiving portions.
 4. A toy phonograph comprising: ahousing; record means defining sounds, said record means movably mountedin said housing; means for producing sounds defined by said recordmeans; a string having an outer end, and having an innner end portioncoupled to said record means to move it in a direction to play it whenthe outer end of said string is pulled with at least a predeterminedforce out of said housing; and means for rewinding said string into saidhousing, said housing and the contents therein having a mass whichproduces a weight which is at whereby to play said record by holdingsaid outer end of said string while said housing falls down, saidhousing having upper and lower ends, means representing landing strutsextending downwardly from said lower end, and a hole opening upwardlyfor permitting said string to be pulled upwardly out of said housing,whereby when a child holds the outer end of said string, the housingdescends in an upright position so that said landing struts can hit theground.